A split three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the staff cuts could have significant ripple effects and should stay on hold while a lawsuit plays out.

The White House had sought an emergency stay of an injunction issued by U.S. Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco in a lawsuit brought by labor unions and cities, including San Francisco and Chicago.

President Donald Trump’s plans to conduct mass firings at multiple agencies will remain on hold after a federal appeals court declined his administration’s request to freeze a lower court’s order that halted the terminations at more than a dozen agencies.